Conditional (Christian) Faith

 I was listening to a comic recently. It was an old video that I had never seen before. In it, the comedian made a bold declaration of his faith in Jesus. That's something you don't necessarily expect to hear from a comedian. However, there it was. Further, during his presentation, this comic made a profession that it wouldn't matter whether his circumstances were good or bad, he would completely and unequivocally trust the God that he was proclaiming.

This comedian told a very powerful story about his son being involved in a bad car accident. He told the listeners how he had been praying on his way to the crash scene, telling God that he wouldn't waver in his previous commitment but that he would trust the Lord completely, no matter his son's outcome. His son survived and thrived in the coming days but not before some difficult days of waiting. So, I guess his declaration that he would trust God even if the outcome wasn't a good one never really got tested (at least in that situation).

However, this isn't the first time that such a declaration has been made. I am reminded of the story in the Old Testament Book of Daniel where Daniel's three friends (three young Jewish boys) refused to obey an order from the king which order directly contradicted their faith in Jehovah God. This order was for everyone in the kingdom to bow down and worship the king (as god) for 30 days. It was a setup if there ever was one. Daniel would later be found in violation of the same despicable order.

The boys were every bit as devout as Daniel later proved to be. They were brought before the king and, since he liked them, he offered them an opportunity to comply and live. If they refused (and he truly hoped that they wouldn't), they would be burned alive. The young men continued to refuse to bow to the king, choosing to die a death by fire rather than to dishonor God. So, the king ordered that the furnace be heated up even hotter, so hot that the soldiers working the furnace died from the heat. Yet, when these three young men were thrown into the furnace, they walked around unharmed and unaffected by the fire. Also, there was a fourth man in the fire with them and he too was unaffected.

The commitment of these young men to follow their God even if it cost them their lives was no casual commitment. There were no conditions on their faith. They were determined to trust this God that they had never seen with their eyes regardless of whatever threats were made against them by those whom they could see right before them. And apparently their faith in God was rewarded by their miraculous deliverance THROUGH the fire rather than OUT of it.

Several years ago, I was introduced to a discipleship movement that has challenged me in ways that I had never dreamed of previously. The type of faith that these young men demonstrated in the Book of Daniel has been the model held up for us to consider, even though we don't actually study anything from the Book of Daniel in a year of studies. Near the very beginning of our study introduction, we are confronted with the concept of entering into a personal, dynamic, intimate relationship with Jesus. The way that this is framed states that such a relationship is only possible to those who are willing to enter into it by "Personal Abandonment and Absolute Trust." 

Either the personal abandonment or the trust would be a challenge all on its own. However, upon a certain amount of reflection, you realize that absolute trust isn't truly possible unless you actually do abandon yourself. As long as you fail to abandon self, you are still asserting your own ability and trusting your own ability. It seems that is where we get ourselves into trouble. It always has been. In fact, Adam & Eve were confronted with this same test in the Garden of Eden, and they failed the test. God said don't eat this one tree or you'll die. A serpent argued that they would actually become as God Himself. Which of us doesn't wish, at some point in our lives, to be as God Himself? To trust him absolutely means that we must abandon our own desires, our own wisdom, and our faith in ourselves. We must renounce our faith in Self in order to fully embrace our faith in the Creator.

I am a failure when it comes to righteousness (with the possible exception of self-righteousness). However, I wish to embrace the grace and mercy of Jesus and all that it entails. What a gracious Savior to accept me in all of my brokenness and failure and to transform me exclusively for His glory! So, I continue to fail... to disappoint. However, I have thrown down the gauntlet. I have entered the battle against self and in favor of the Savior. I am His. Period. He may do with me as He chooses and I remain His. Fully.

Whose are you and in whom do you trust?

Hung up on ourselves... or Him?

It is awfully easy to get really hung up on us. After all, we look at ourselves in the mirror on a daily basis... and usually admire what we see (whether we admit it or not). We groom ourselves, dress ourselves, quaff ourselves and on and on it goes. All of this is to impress those whom we currently do not know or to maintain an impression with those that we do know.

It simply would not do to let the people in our lives see through to the "real me" that lies beneath. However, it is exactly that "real me" that Jesus wants to see. In fact, He doesn't just want to SEE us the way we are. He wants to KNOW us the way we really are. He wants to interact with us as we really are and have us interact with Him on the same terms.

This is where we get ourselves in trouble. You see, most of us do not want to admit that we are really as bad as we know we are. We do not want to face ourselves that way, much less have anyone else face us that way. Certainly, if Jesus saw us as we really are, He would not, in fact He COULD not accept, love or forgive us. We know that we are really that bad, but we don't want to admit it even to ourselves.

Jesus tells us that we should come to Him with all of our troubles and all of our burdens and He will give us rest. Let us imagine for a moment that we can actually play a nasty trick on Him, that we can actually come to Him as we want to be seen and known. That we can come to Him without all of our baggage.

Now, in that condition, we come and we hear Jesus say, "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest." Where is the rest for us? We have hidden our troubles away. We have buried our burdens somewhere out of sight. We have managed to cover our errors, our mistakes and our sin so that we appear to be acceptable as we are. What good is Jesus' offer to us now? What comfort can He offer us if we have no burden to bring to Him? What strength can He offer us when we are quite capable on our own and burdens are either small and insignificant or non-existent?

My friend, you must come to Jesus just as you really are. Do not dress up for Him or put on makeup to hide the scars, the bruises and the other misshapen features of your real self. Come just as you are and hear His call to you. He says, "Come." That is where the process begins. You will never know the grace, mercy and forgiveness of our Saviour unless you first come.

Do not hesitate to come now. There is a time that is too late. Jesus has said that today is the acceptable time. Tomorrow, as we all know so well, may never come. So, come today, and come quickly. Bring all of your troubles, burdens and shortcomings. Come as you really are, in all of your miserable condition, and do not delay. Jesus has promised life, liberty and peace to those who come. If you remain in your sin, you have only distress, misery and slavery to enjoy. So come to the Master and take His burden in exchange for your own. Accept His mercy and forgiveness and gain the peace and satisfaction that only He can give. 

He died so that you might live. Live for Him not out of some sense of obligation but as though you were voluntarily paying a debt of gratitude for all that He has done. Don't get hung up on you; get hung up on Him. The reward is endless and the love He shares is indescribable.